Beschreibung:

The first customer delivered Ferrari, the ex-Works Raymond Sommer, Count Gabriele Besana, Franco Cortese 1949 Mille Miglia entry 1947 FERRARI 166 SPIDER CORSA TWO-SEATER SPORTS RACING CAR Chassis No. 002-C Engine No. 002-C Red with red leather interior Engine: V12, twin overhead camshafts, 1,992cc, 145bhp at 7,500rpm; Gearbox: five-speed manual; Suspension: independent front by unequal length wishbones and coil-spring damper units, rear live axle with semi-elliptic transverse spring; Brakes: four wheel hydraulic drums. Right hand drive. It was during World War II that Enzo Ferrari and Gioacchino Colombo were already hatching plans to build an automobile named after the pre-war Alfa Romeo Works team manager. It wasn't long after Italy's surrender, by the middle of 1946, that the first two cars were under construction. These were entirely new cars produced with specifically built components, unlike the Fiat-based 815s that were hastily put together for the 1940 Mille Miglia. All of the very first cars were powered by the V12 type 125 engine of 1,500ci engine capacity (12 X 125ci per cylinder), rated at producing 72bhp at 5,600rpm, breathing through three Weber 30 DCF carburetors. During the following summer, the engine capacities were enlarged to 1,900ci thereby giving birth to the 159 model. Just like the previous cars, these were in fact a modified version of the same chassis, but remained the property of the factory and were exclusively campaigned on the racetrack, thereby laying the solid foundation to the marque's racing heritage from the outset. They could be seen at Piacenza, Pescara, Rome, Varese, Parma, Florence and last but not least Modena. Towards the end of 1947 on October 12th, the Turin-winning car in the hands of French Grand Prix driver Raymond Sommer, was to become the first Tipo 166 Spider Corsa. Engine capacity was now up to 1,992ci (12 X 166ci per cylinder). To quote the Commendatore himself: "when my old friend Gioacchino Colombo joined me at my new workshops at Maranello, we resolved that we would embark on a more ambitious project: a 12 cylinder of 1½ litre capacity. I had always thought after a 12 cylinder (and) I had always liked the song of 12 cylinders. That 12 cylinder was the ancestor of all Ferrari engines. All we wanted to do was build a conventional engine, but one that would be outstanding." A legend was born! Ferrari 166SC chassis 002-C was one of three such models constructed in 1947 by the world famous Italian marque and according to records, the first customer delivered car from Maranello. It was the first 166 Spider Corsa to be sold to a private customer and carried matching engine and chassis nos. 002-C when sold on January 19th, 1948 to Gabriele Besana, an Italian aristocrat and gentleman racer. A virtually identical sister car, also re-engined to Tipo 166 specification and also based on one of the 1947 factory chassis, was sold two months later on March 16th to his elder brother. The siblings had arranged for a form of 'factory supported' purchase agreement to be drawn up, enabling them to profit from regular model upgrades and thereby remain competitive on the track. It was really no more than a return to Enzo Ferrari's pre-war activity as head of Scuderia Ferrari which too would maintain and race prepare customer cars in their own Modena workshops. Chassis 002-C next appeared in Buenos Aires as its owner had been attracted by the South American 'Temporada' series, later moving on to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil. It was back in Italy though that the two brothers, with chassis 002-C and 004-C respectively, achieved their greatest successes. Both Gabriele and his brother Soave campaigned the 166SC models extensively over the next year. They put Brazilian driver Francesco 'Chico' Landi in one of the cars and he went on to win the Bari Grand Prix; they themselves achieved a second place at Naples, a third in the tough Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti and a fourth at Lake Garda. As late